


After the end

by plikki



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Identity Reveal, Post-Hawk Moth Defeat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2020-09-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:33:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26590696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plikki/pseuds/plikki
Summary: Marinette was supposed to be happy. It was over. But victory didn't taste so sweet when she had no one to share it with. Chat was missing and she thought he'd taken away her chance at happiness with him.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 33
Kudos: 235





	After the end

**Author's Note:**

> Yay, New York special in three days! Trailers, excitement, it's great. Why did my brain have to torture me with this idea then? I'm sure you don't need angst right now. I listened to Ronan Keating's If tomorrow never comes and it was thoughts of not telling someone you love until it's too late that led me here. Enjoy! (Yeah, right...)

It was over. What they’d been waiting for, their only goal. Their big triumph - defeating Hawk Moth and Mayura. It was done. They should be celebrating. They should be happy. They should be together. But they weren’t.

Marinette had never expected that the giddiness from knowing that she no longer had villains to fight would be so quickly replaced by emptiness. Chat was gone. She had no reason to meet her partner and she had no way of finding him. She missed him so much. 

They had barely exchanged a few words after the big showdown. He’d looked like he wanted to say something, had reached out to her. Just then reporters had surrounded her and she’d watched helpless as he walked away. She had wanted to ask him why he’d looked so shocked to see who Hawk Moth and Mayura were, why he didn’t share her triumphant grin. But she never got the chance. He never called, not that he had a way to do that. She had no reason to transform and anyway, she couldn’t stay transformed all the time, waiting for a message from him. 

She had expected the ache to get duller as time passed. It only got worse. She felt like she missed a part of herself. He’d become so much more than her partner and best friend. He was such a huge part of her life, the one she trusted with it. She still didn’t know a thing about him even after all this time, it had been almost three years and what did she have?. She didn’t know where he lived, where he studied, what hobbies he had. She didn’t know  _ his name. _

It would be stupid to think that she loved him if this was the case, right? And yet, the way she felt was so much like being lovesick. 

Wasn’t this the biggest irony? She’d waited so long to be able to know him without secrets and hidden identities. She’d decided that she could give him a chance after all, if only they were finally free. It had been stupid to think she could control her heart. It didn’t care when the right time for this would come. She’d fallen in love without agreeing to it and now it was too late. 

She had no way of telling Chat how she felt. She could only regret all the missed opportunities. All the late night patrols that turned into hangouts. With companionable silence and shared jokes. Without being able to reveal too much, they’d shared so many precious moments, they’d forged a bond deeper than anything she could imagine ever having with anyone else. 

She waited. A month turned into two. Nothing new. Tikki couldn’t help her, telling her she should give him time and wait for him to call her. Her only consolation was that he still had Plagg. 

Once the dust settled, it was easier. She no longer had to disappear on secret missions, she had so much more time for her family and friends. She wanted to be happy like the rest of Paris. 

Although in her friends’ group, things weren’t that joyous. Adrien was gone too, dealing with the lengthy process against his father and Nathalie. His home life was even more complicated than normal and she felt so bad for him. But, as surprising as it was, she didn’t miss him as much as she missed Chat. Yes, it was interesting how perspective changed things. 

She saw him once and could barely pay attention to what he had to say about his aunt. She told him she was sorry, but he seemed too distracted and left before any of them could really ask him how he felt. Three months after his father had been revealed as Paris’s villain and she didn’t know how he felt.

Three months. She’d never expected to count the days. But there they were. 90 whole days without Chat. She missed his jokes, she missed his smile, she missed his solid presence and warmth. She wanted nothing more than to fall into his arms and forget everything else. 

Tikki surprised her one evening, not long after she saw Adrien. 

“He will meet you,” she said. She didn’t even need to say who. 

“How? When?” Marinette wanted to squash her hopes, to keep her expectations low. But it was impossible. 

“At the end of the week, your usual time and place. Plagg told me… that he wanted to return the ring.”

She was curious about when the meeting between the two kwamis had taken place. But she didn’t ask. If he wanted to continue to keep it secret, so be it. 

“He didn’t know, Marinette, that Plagg could talk to me,” her kwami told her softly, guessing what she was thinking. “Plagg told me that he’d make him come.”

So maybe it was even worse. Maybe he didn’t want to see her at all. She wanted to know why, but the possible answer also terrified her. It was probably too late anyway.

*

When Sunday came, Marinette was a ball of nerves. She paced the rooftop, not being able to stand still. It was already dark, but the evening was warm. Spring was in full bloom and she should be happy. Instead, there she was, afraid of what the future might hold.

“M'lady.”

She wanted to melt at the sound of his voice, but tears pricked her eyes because it hurt so much to hear it after all this time. She wanted to be mad but it wasn’t fair, she didn’t know why he’d decided to stay away. Even more than that she wanted to hug him.

She turned around with this intention in mind but froze when she saw who was behind her. It wasn’t Chat. But it was, she knew. He was holding the ring in his hand, looking at her. Adrien.

It made so much sense. Everything. From his reaction during the battle, through him going missing, to Plagg finding Tikki. 

His eyes were so sad, he looked defeated. She couldn’t imagine how he felt. She still didn’t know. She still wanted to hug him. More than before. So she did it. He stiffened and for a second she was afraid that she’d really lost him. But then he wrapped his arms around her and held her. She let all the tension seep away from her. Even if it was over, at least she got to hold him one last time. 

“I missed you so much,” she said, the tears falling freely. 

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled in her hair. “I missed you too.”

“How are you?” She asked once the tears dried out. 

“Not great. It’s this constant reminder that things are really messed up. I still can’t believe it.”

“It must have been horrible for you. I didn't know and.. I thought I’d never see you again,” she said, her voice wavering. 

“I didn’t know how to contact you. I knew I had to return the ring. And I wanted to be able to tell you a proper goodbye. Plagg surprised me when he said he’d talked to Tikki. I didn’t feel ready, but I knew it was my only chance.”

“You’re going away.” 

“Only for a while. My aunt…” He paused, frowning. “Wait, how…?”   
“You didn’t have time for your other friends too, but you still told them that you’re going to your aunt’s for the summer.” It hurt. That he’d told his friends while not telling his partner. But was she even that anymore?   
He blinked in confusion. Then he seemed to make the connection.

“Spots off,” she mumbled. As expected, he didn’t seem surprised to see her. But she didn’t let him say what he thought.

“I wanted to tell you that I love you. That we can finally be together. That I was so stupid to wait for the big battle to realise this. I was terrified that it was too late. And now I’m telling you this. My long-time crush. It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad,” she said, shaking her head.

“Marinette, I-”

“I understand. Maybe I’ll be just another constant reminder of that bitter end,” she said, looking away. 

“No, it’s not that. I wanted to tell you there and then. But I couldn’t. And time passing only made it worse. I felt guilty for not seeing it earlier, for having this connection to the people who’d made us suffer so much. I thought you might blame me. I know it’s irrational, Plagg told me the same thing. But I was afraid to face you. I’m sorry.”

“I thought we were a team. You and me against the world, you know? It’s not fair for you to be there for me when I feel desperate and then not give me a chance to help you when you need it the most. I didn’t even know that you needed me and.. “ Tears made talking difficult once again.

“Shh, it’s ok,” he said, moving her hair out of her face with a gentle touch and holding her close. “I thought you’d be happy, to have this over and be free,” he said, his voice sad for a whole other reason.

“But I missed you! I don’t want what’s between us to be over. I might not need you as my superhero partner anymore, but I want you here! Don’t ever do this to me again!” She knew it wasn’t fair, but she still felt anger rise inside her. “No matter what happens, we’re in this together. I want to be there for you, I want to be with you… “ She could barely see from the tears in her eyes, but she heard him sniff. 

“Oh God,” he muttered and something about the way he held her, as if he was afraid that she’d turn out to be a dream, told her that maybe not all hope was lost. “I love you,” he said and she felt a kiss on top of her head. “So much..” It was the last confirmation she needed.

She looked up and with her hands in his hair made him bend down in order to reach his lips. It wasn’t what she’d dreamed of, what she’d expected. There weren’t supposed to be tears when they kissed and that hint of desperation was almost too much. But it didn’t matter. He was there and he still loved her.

“I thought I’d never be able to tell you how I feel,” she said between kisses. “That it would be the thing I’d get to regret for the rest of my life. I love you. I’ll tell you all the time so you’ll never forget it.” He laughed weakly.

“I don’t think there is any danger of this happening. Thank you, for waiting for me,” he said, a new fire in his eyes. 

“I’ll always wait for you,” she answered, a promise that was more than timely. It had to be enough.


End file.
